And for cryptocurrency transactions, TurboTax supports up to 20,000 transactions, five times the last year’s number. The free package is designed for people with fairly simple tax returns. It won’t handle itemized deductions or the full Schedule 1, 2 or 3 of Form 1040, but it can handle W-2 income, basic credits like the child tax credit and the earned income credit and student loan interest deduction. When you access Live Help, you’ll enter some information about your question. This will help us direct you to the right expert to answer your question. You can also pay an additional fee to move to Full Service and have your tax return prepared for you.
Ditch the paperwork. Docs and data imported for you.
They have their own business and may also offer different or additional services from those offered in TurboTax Full Service. Eventually, for more complex tax situations, you may need additional documents like mortgage statements or other detailed financial information. But since we save your return as you go, you can finish anytime. These prices are the list prices advertised as of March 4, 2025, without any discounts that TurboTax may offer to people who file early in the tax filing season.
Ultimately, the goal is to simplify your tax season — not add unnecessary costs. With the right version and a clear understanding of your needs, TurboTax can make filing your taxes a streamlined and stress-free experience. A closer look at TurboTax’s pros and cons to help you decide if it’s the right tax filing software for this tax season.
Social and customer reviews
If you need a tax professional, such as a TurboTax expert or CPA, to review your return, TurboTax charges up to $209 for federal tax filing and an additional $64 per state. If you get stuck, TurboTax offers live, on-screen support options. You can even turn your tax return over to a tax professional to complete, although this option comes with an additional fee.
Unlock tailored help options in your account.
- Carla Ayers joined Kiplinger in 2024 as the E-Commerce & Personal Finance Editor.
- For people who would prefer full-service, in-person prep from a tax pro working directly within a stricter provider network, H&R Block’s offices might be a better fit.
- If you get stuck along the way, you have the option of paying an additional fee and upgrading to TurboTax Live to get on-demand help from a TurboTax expert or CPA.
- While its free version works well for basic needs, paying for a higher tier can be worth it for the added support if your return is a bit more complicated.
The step-up from that is TurboTax Live Assisted; the name now adds “Assisted,” presumably for clarity that you do get live help via video chats and tax return review with tax experts. The third line is TurboTax Live Full Service, where you give your documents to a tax expert and they do the rest. While we considered the availability and ease of using the live components, we evaluated the standard TurboTax online product, focusing on the Deluxe tier — one of four product tiers based on your return’s complexity.
TurboTax made it simple
Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products or services. On Step 1 after the Order Summary you will be asked to pay for the Account fee. Once you have completed the credit card processing you can go back to any of the TurboTax online sections you were working on by clicking on that section link on the left side of the online program screen. The time it takes to prepare your return depends on the complexity of your taxes, your availability, seasonal peak days for tax preparation, and how busy our experts are. Our goal is to get your taxes done with as little waiting as possible. When you’re ready to start, we’re ready to take taxes off your plate.
TurboTax refund options
- Some people may not need support beyond TurboTax’s excellent user interface, but those who want a bit of extra help from a tax pro will need to upgrade to another package type — Live Assisted.
- Scroll down to bottom and it click on activate and it should work.
- Don’t worry about paying taxes on the entire amount reported on Form 1099-K.
It’s a service that you can add to every package for an additional fee, and it gets you screen sharing, phone or chat access to tax pros who can help you with questions that arise as you fill out your return. From Jan. 29 through the April tax filing deadline, you can schedule a chat with a tax pro seven days a week, from 5 a.m. A TurboTax product specialist can help you, and even draw on your screen to help you get your taxes done. With Live Full Service, you’re matched to a dedicated tax expert who will do your taxes, start to finish, and review them with you before filing. Where available, you will have the option to choose an independent Intuit TurboTax Verified Pro. With Live Assisted, you prepare your taxes at your own pace and on your own time by answering simple questions about your life and taxes.
The provider’s answers, combined with our specialists’ hands-on research, make up our proprietary assessment process that scores each provider’s performance. Once you start working on your return, TurboTax will run you through a series of Q&A-style and fill-in-the-blank questions and import documents (e.g., W-2, 1099s) automatically where possible to eliminate time-consuming manual entry. Various promotions and limited-time offers from us and our affiliate partners will deviate from our direct-from-Intuit pricing. @sheilanellestyn To activate your TurboTax Online version please visit this link. Select that “ I have an account“ ,log into your account and proceed to the second step by adding turbotax deluxe online your 16 digit activation code to review and activate the TurboTax Online product. Please note that TurboTax Online activation can only be linked to one account.
Active duty and reserve military users can file federal and state taxes for free, using a link via the website’s menu. TurboTax’s software dynamically adjusts for its military product, as opposed to having a separate “product” (as TaxAct does for its military tax service). NerdWallet’s comprehensive review process evaluates and ranks the largest online tax software providers. Our aim is to provide an independent assessment of available software to help arm you with information to make sound, informed judgements on which ones will best meet your needs. The paid packages — the Deluxe and Premium — fall on the more costly end of the spectrum. Some people may not need support beyond TurboTax’s excellent user interface, but those who want a bit of extra help from a tax pro will need to upgrade to another package type — Live Assisted.
TurboTax Review: Features, Pricing and Filing Options for This Tax Season
You’ll start with adding personal info (name, birthday, Social Security number, occupation, residency — including if you lived somewhere part-time – and military status), dependent info, and the like. After reviewing all of the personal info, TurboTax plugged an optional $49 upgrade for its theft-monitoring and audit-defense service. Once I declined this, we finally moved into the federal return. TurboTax’s onboarding process remains similar, with updated tile selections representing aspects of your tax situation. Selecting tiles — which come up again later as questions — produces a recommendation on which product tier is appropriate.
How can I buy the “online web” version of TurboTax Delux WITHOUT having to file the taxes? Just want to buy ONLINE web TurboTax Delux BUT NOT ready to file/submit yet. You can receive your refund by check, whether you’re printing or e-filing. 100% accurate calculations, audit support, and your max refund. If your employer, payroll provider, or financial institution is a TurboTax Import Partner, you can import your W-2s and 1099s. Otherwise, you can snap a picture and upload it to have the information automatically entered on your return.
When you need help from a tax expert, just select the “Live Help†button, and we’ll connect you. You can discuss your questions over the phone, via live chat, or via one-way video on your screen. When you’re done preparing your taxes, you can get a tax expert to review your return to make sure it’s 100% correct.When you’re satisfied and ready to file, simply pay and e-file or print your tax return. TurboTax charges up to $139 for federal tax filing ($64 per state) for its costliest do-it-yourself tax package.
Instead, you upload your tax documents and a human puts together your tax return. You’ll be matched with a tax preparer, meet on a video or phone call before they begin working, and then you’ll meet again when your return is ready for review. The preparer files the return for you, and if you choose to use Full Service next year, you can even request to work with the same tax pro if they’re available. We evaluate each tax software based on specific features and the actual experience of filing taxes using those features. This includes but is not limited to analyzing navigation, ease of accessing help, available import options and the quality of contextual guidance provided to users. Our team of US-based tax experts have extensive experience and internal training.